Sure Thing • Gavi

Bonus Chapter 7: World Cup Glory

🎶 Magic in the Air (feat. Ahmed Chawki) — Magic System, Chawki 🎶

21st July 2030

I was a nervous wreck.

Not only because Spain was playing Brazil in the World Cup final at Camp Nou tonight and it would be my husband's greatest career achievement to win here, at his home stadium, but also because he had begged me to bring along our boys to possibly witness this moment. I had never taken our kids to a game until now, as they hadn't even turned two yet, in an effort to keep them out of the spotlight as much as possible. But today was just too big to miss out.

And I didn't know how they would behave being up way past their bedtime, with all the noise on top of that. Pablo had been considerate enough though to pull strings to get me and our nanny an invite to a box - President Laporta's - so that we would be shielded a bit more than the rest of his family that was sitting just two rows above the players' bench with the other team members' friends and family.

"Oh hello, I didn't know you would be here!" I exclaimed happily when I saw Luis standing next to his uncle. I had heard less and less from him lately, but that was also due to the fact that I nearly never managed to text back in a normal span of time as my days were filled with running after two toddler boys and I was completely knackered from that in the evenings.
"Of course, how could I miss out on this! And hello, boys" he replied before crouching down to greet my sons. I had been left a bit disappointed after he declined (very politely, as he always was) being one of their godfathers, but he said he was away for work way too often and it was too big of a responsibility for him to take on. Whatever.

The first half was so boring that Juan Carlos and Francisco even fell asleep - which I was very relieved about and the teams went into the break goalless.

Belen Gavira
How's it going upstairs?

With her grandchildren's birth, my relationship with my mother-in-law had magically turned out for the better and I have to admit that she was my biggest family help here in Barcelona - and we surprisedly butted heads very rarely.

Vicky 💝
Surprisingly good, they fell asleep, hopefully I can wake them to celebrate something later
And if there's nothing to celebrate Pablo will surely be happy that they can't remember anything 😆

Belen Gavira
Haha, you're probably right about that!
But fingers crossed 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼
I have a good feeling

Vicky 💝
Yeah, me too, but I'm afraid to jinx it...

The second half was a bit better, entertainment-wise, but still, there were no goals shot and as the teams were preparing for extra-time, also my sons woke up.
"Mami! What's up?" Francisco asked. Trust my sons to mix up the colours red and blue, but to know all the football regulations at not even two years old. Pablo spent a lot of time with them whenever he was around.
"Extra time! Normal game is over" I explained, but who was I kidding. It was usually them telling me when someone was offside when we watched Pablo's games on TV together.

The referee blew the whistle for the first 15 minutes and I crossed my fingers so tightly while holding Juan Carlos on my lap. Francisco was sitting on Luis' as they both animatedly talked and pointed to the pitch - I quickly snapped a photo and made sure to send it to him and Chiara - he was the only one who regularly visited her in Argentina - I still hadn't made it yet and it was kind of gnawing me up from the inside - I knew she would never blame me but I had the feeling of being a really bad friend.

"Papi! Papi!" Juan Carlos shouted in my lap when Pablo made a run towards the goal, but it was stopped abruptly, when Vini blocked him and Pablo stumbled all over the pitch. He was furious and stood up, seemingly ready to fight him, but he remembered that this was a World Cup final and decided to walk away instead, while Vini tried to wind him up and insult him. The ref thankfully stopped this bullshit and gave him a yellow card.
"Clown! Haha!" Francisco shouted through the box and all of us adults erupted in laughter.

The first fifteen minutes passed without a goal again, but five minutes before the end of the second half, it happened. There was confusion in the box, you couldn't even see whose legs were on the ball or whose weren't but somehow, the ball landed in Brazil's net.
"YEEEEEEESSSSSS!!!" we all shouted and howled as the little boys were running around the box like madmen.
"Who was it?" I asked frantically.
"Pedri! Pedri!" a man shouted, I think it was a Barca board member, and my eyes turned to the pitch to see the number 8 celebrating with his usual goggle celebration and my heart broke as I saw his teary eyes - his father had passed away unexpectedly just a month ago.

Spain clung onto their lead for five more minutes and when the final whistle blew, Pablo collapsed to the ground and I covered my mouth in shock. He had just won the fucking World Cup.
"Mami! See Papi! See Papi!" the boys begged now and I gestured at our nanny.
"Yes Ma'am?" she asked. Rosemary was a middle-aged Norland-trained nanny and perfect for our family as she spoke only English with the boys who were basically growing up bilingual with that and they already spoke better English than their father - not like that was hard.

"I think we'll leave the stroller upstairs and if you could take Juan Carlos that would be great. We should move to the rest of Mr Paez' family for the medal ceremony so that the boys can see it from up close" I told her and she nodded.
"See you later... Or maybe not, I don't know the after party plans" I chuckled as I said goodbye to Luis and the rest.

My whole body was shaking as we were escorted downstairs by security - the stadium was packed but we made it to the others just in time.
"There you are!" Aurora shouted and we quickly joined them. So many people walked up to me to hug and congratulate me but my vision was so blurry from the tears that were building up in my eyes. I tried to document as much as possible by taking pictures, especially of the moment where the FIFA President hung the gold medal around Pablo's neck.

I definitely started ugly-crying when he lifted up the trophy in the middle of his teammates - he was their captain and he had led them to glory. After a while, families were also allowed onto the pitch and Pablo's mum thankfully helped me with the boys as we looked around for him. And when our eyes met, I forgot about everything. My mind was only full with images of the hard road we had shared up to this moment. I remembered the first time I saw him play live at the Olympic Stadium, I remembered how I saw him break down on that pitch in Valladolid on my computer screen in that tiny flat in Israel, I remembered him hobbling on crutches shortly after his surgery, I remembered how much pain he went through during his ACL recovery - the tears, the cries, the gritted teeth - I remembered every game, every final he lost, I remembered every final he won and every gold medal that had hung around his neck, up to this one.

And when we finally hugged, both our tears wet each other's red Spain jerseys.
"You made it" I sobbed.
"Only because you have always been there" he sniffled and I pulled back a bit to kiss him.
"PAPI! CAMPEÓN!" our boys shouted and he let me go to crouch down and pick up both boys. I stepped back a bit and let him enjoy the moment with them as I felt an arm being slung around my shoulder.

"You guys have a beautiful family" I heard Pedri say and I slung my arm now around his shoulder too and turned to smile at him.
"And it's getting bigger" I replied and grinned.
"What?! You are-" he gasped and I nodded.
"11 weeks along, we haven't even told our families yet, so pshhh" I chuckled and he made a motion of sealing his lips, but I still hadn't told him the biggest part of the secret yet, hell, even Pablo didn't know yet, I had just found out two days ago myself and didn't want to tell him the news over the phone.

"There you go, bro! Hi Vicky!" Balde said and handed Pedri over the golden trophy and quickly walked over to say hi.
"Hey, well played and congratulations!" I replied and also waved at his girlfriend Eva a few feet away.
"Gavi! Picture time!" Pedri shouted over to my husband and when Pablo saw the trophy in his hands, his eyes lit up and he quickly dragged along our boys. Us five took a picture all together with an official photographer and then Javi got a hold of the rascals who were trying to snatch the trophy themselves so that us three could get a picture alone too, and then the boys.

"Fuck, this year's printed photo album will be so much work" I joked as us three gathered for the picture.
"I love those albums, whenever I'm at yours I could spend hours looking at them" Pedri swooned and my heart broke a little for him. He had had a girlfriend for two years but when she wanted to take the next step, he ended it and confessed - only to me - that it was because he had never been able to emotionally let go of Chiara.

"Ok, on three we say: Vicky is having two more Mini Gavis!" I exclaimed and the boy's jaws dropped and their faces turned to me and not the camera.
"WHAT?!" they both shouted in unison and I laughed.
"Surprise!" I giggled and pointed at the camera, the moment of this reveal now forever captured on a photograph that I would hold on to forever.